WILL OBAMA APPROVE IT? The Pentagon is proposing the movement of heavy military equipment in Eastern Europe, to deter Russian aggression.

The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine have caused alarm and prompted new military planning in NATO capitals.

It would be the most prominent of a series of moves the United States and NATO have taken to bolster forces in the region and send a clear message of resolve to allies and to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, that the United States would defend the alliance’s members closest to the Russian frontier.

It’s the right move to protect our allies, who have recently asked the US to operate permanent military bases to deter Putin. The Pentagon says no final decision has been made yet regarding the proposal to move equipment.